KOL gives a clear signal: we say stop to pseudo-fans in the stands!

KOL will be relentless if the behaviors of pseudo-fans related to recent incidents at matches repeat themselves – stands or stadiums will be closed – says Zbigniew Owsiany, Chairman of KOL, to ekstraliga.pl

Interview with Zbigniew Owsiany – Chairman of the Adjudicating Committee of the League for ekstraliga.pl.

ekstraliga.pl: What disciplinary consequences have the clubs in PGE Ekstraliga and Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga faced due to the behavior of pseudo-fans in the 2024 season?

On speedway stadiums, we mostly have true speedway fans who come to the events to get excited about the sport and cheer for the teams. However, there are incidents that need to be addressed. The Adjudicating Committee of the League is strict in such situations as we believe we cannot allow the escalation of pseudo-fan behavior, and we have dealt with such cases notably at stadiums in Leszno, Zielona Góra, Grudziądz, and Wrocław or Bydgoszcz. We are talking about illegal pyrotechnics, causing fires, riots in the audience, thus violating the Mass Events Security Act, as well as throwing dangerous objects onto the track, and even towards the racers. We also had incidents after matches, such as the vandalism of one of the racer’s bus.

 What penalties have been imposed on the match organizers?

In connection with the behavior of fans in Zielona Góra at the match with KS APATOR Toruń, namely the lighting of flares in the home fans’ sector, a fine of 20,000 PLN was imposed. I must emphasize that this is a result of another similar incident this season, as there have been problems with this in Zielona Góra already. Also, the visiting fans received an away travel ban for the organized group at the match in Lublin in the past round of PGE Ekstraliga. Additionally, the club from Zielona Góra was fined for the behavior of fans throwing bottles towards Patryk Dudek at the match with KS APATOR Toruń. Unfortunately, this was repeated at the match with ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin and for throwing bottles towards Dominik Kubera and Bartosz Zmarzlik KOL applied a rigorous disciplinary measure – closing the stadium in Zielona Góra for one league match of the 2025 season conditionally. In addition, this is not the only problem in Zielona Góra, because at one of the matches fans obstructed the view from the camera positions for the broadcasting television.

What do you mean by that? 

I want to emphasize that KOL will be ruthless if such behaviors repeat themselves or appear in other stadiums; we will close stands, and possibly even entire stadiums. Clubs must handle their own audience and we will not allow the escalation of behaviors we have dealt with recently in speedway stadiums. Clubs must start working with the audience, meeting with fan representatives to make them aware of the great dangers brought by the behavior I’m talking about. KOL gives a clear signal that we say stop to pseudo-fans in the stands!

There were also problems at the stadium in Bydgoszcz, and the judge halted the match with TEXOM Stal Rzeszów…

For lighting pyrotechnics (flares) by the home fans at the exit of the second turn before the twelfth heat and consequently stopping the start procedure and the break in the events, the club received a monetary fine. Unfortunately, lighting illegal pyrotechnics also took place at the match with ARGED MALES A Ostrów recently, on September 1, and so KOL will soon deal with this incident.

Such kinds of situations also occurred at other venues. For example in Grudziądz and Wrocław. Did KOL take disciplinary actions here too?

In cases of breaking the Mass Events Security Act, KOL acts automatically. For the flares lit in Wrocław by visiting fans, the club from Grudziądz received a penalty in the form of an away fan ban for one league match in the new season, 2025. Lighting flares at the match between the teams from Grudziądz and Zielona Góra causing a longer break in the events, and then setting jerseys on fire on the fence caused a fire in Grudziądz, which was extinguished in a few minutes by the stadium’s technical staff. The fire brigade was also called to intervene, which put out the fire and secured the place so that the event could continue. Here, KOL fined the club. Furthermore, the club from Grudziądz was also fined for lighting smoke flares by fans at the match with KS APATOR Toruń before the eighth heat of the event.

It was also disturbing for us that at the match with BETARD Sparta Wrocław, according to media reports, as stated in a television interview by Vadim Tarasenko, another incident occurred. We will also investigate this incident.

The organizer of the match between the team from Wrocław and the team from Grudziądz was also fined, with a monetary penalty for the flares lit by the home fans and for not securing the event properly.

KOL also conducted disciplinary proceedings regarding the behavior of fans from Leszno. What can you say about this matter?

Riots in the stadium, lit pyrotechnics at the match with the club from Gorzów, over a twenty-minute break in the event – for all of this, the organizer received a monetary penalty of 20,000 PLN and a disciplinary measure in the form of an away fan ban for three away matches.

As Chairman of KOL, you rarely speak on behalf of the Committee, but this time you want to appeal to match organizers and fans. What do you want to convey to them?

KOL condemns all behaviors that have appeared at the stadiums – which we are talking about. Also, those that are already on the verge of regular banditry, and I’m talking, for instance, about what happened to Patryk Dudek in Zielona Góra, where his bus was vandalized. In this case, I want to emphasize and explain – we only know about it from media reports because there was no report to Ekstraliga Speedway, we do not know when and under what circumstances this act of vandalism occurred, but we condemn such behaviors and appeal to organizers and fans to oppose any acts of aggression and behaviors unrelated to supporting the sport.

Pseudo-fans cause problems for clubs and players through their actions, and most importantly for normal fans who come to the events to enjoy the sport’s competition. Breaks in the events, occurrences unrelated to cheering, will be caught and condemned by KOL.